The Lithuanian calendar is unusual among Western countries in that neither the names of the months nor the names of the weekdays are derived from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

. They were formalized after

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

regained independence in 1918, based on historic names, and celebrate natural phenomena; three months are named for birds, two for trees, and the remainder for seasonal activities and features. The days of the week are simply

ordinal numbers In set theory, an ordinal number, or ordinal, is a generalization of ordinal numerals (first, second, th, etc.) aimed to extend enumeration to infinite sets. A finite set can be enumerated by successively labeling each element with the leas ...

. The Lithuanian calendar shows some similarities with the

Slavic calendar While many Slavic languages officially use Latin-derived names for the months of the year in the Gregorian calendar, there is also a set of older names for the twelve months that differs from the Latin month names, as they are of Slavic origin. I ...

History

Lithuanian researcher proposed that there was a simple astronomical observatory on the

Birutė Hill Birutė (died 1382) was the Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Kęstutis, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and mother of Vytautas the Great. There is very little known about Birutė's life, but after her death a cu ...

Palanga Palanga (; ; ) is a resort town, resort city in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest and the largest summer resort in Lithuania and has sand, sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long and up to 300 metres, 10 ...

before the

Christianization of Lithuania The Christianization of Lithuania () occurred in 1387, initiated by the Lithuanian royals Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Catholic Christianity by Li ...

. The so-called Sceptre of

Gediminas Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341. He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...

cause much speculation about a medieval Lithuanian calendar. It was found on the shore of the

Strėva River The Strėva () is a river in Trakai and Kaunas district municipalities, Lithuania. In 1348, the Battle of Strėva between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights was fought on the frozen river. In 1962, the river was impounded to cr ...

near in 1680. It was an iron stick in length covered in brass tin with small golden nails that formed various symbols grouped in a spiral of 39 rows. The original was lost at the end of the 19th century, but copies were made and one is kept at the National Museum of Lithuania. A copy owned by the historian

Teodor Narbutt Teodor Narbutt (; 8 November 1784 – 27 November 1864) was a Polish–Lithuanian romantic historian and military engineer in service of the Russian Empire. He is best remembered as the author of a nine-volume Polish-language history of Lithuani ...

was studied and described by the Russian astronomer

Matvey Gusev Matvey Matveyevich Gusev () (, Vyatka, Russia–, Berlin, Germany) was a Russian astronomer who worked at Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg from 1850 to 1852 and then at Vilnius Observatory. In 1860 he founded the first scienti ...

who argued that the symbols marked lunar months and days. No similar artifacts have been found since and researchers doubt its authenticity. The

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

was used in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

; the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

was adopted by the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

in 1586, a few years after its promulgation in 1582 by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

. In 1800, following Lithuania's annexation by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, the Julian calendar again became the norm, although a part of ethnic Lithuania left of

Nemunas River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its southern channel. It drains ...

(

Suvalkija Suvalkija or Sudovia ( or ''Sūduva'') is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania. Its unofficial capital is Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija (Suvalkijans) are called (plural) or (singular) in Lithuanian. It is located sout ...

) retained the Gregorian calendar (see

Aleksotas The Aleksotas Eldership () is an eldership in the southern section of the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, bordering the left bank of the Nemunas River. Its population in 2006 was 21,694. The elderate borders Vilijampolė and Centras in the north, ...

). The

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

re-instated the Gregorian calendar, which had been the Western European standard for over a century, in January 1918. These changes caused some confusion before their usage became familiar.Lithuanian calendar from the 13th to 20th centuries

Names of the months

The standardization of month names was made difficult by the fact that publication of the Lithuanian language in Latin script was illegal from 1864 to 1904 (see

Lithuanian press ban The Lithuanian press ban () was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet, in force from 1865 to 1904, within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-language publications t ...

) and some drift in the usages occurred. Month names are not capitalized in the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of t ...

, reflecting their

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

origins. * sausis (January) derives from the adjective ''sausas'', "dry". At this point in Lithuania's

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

, precipitation is usually in the form of fine, dry snowflakes, and indoor

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

is very low. Its historic names included ''ragas, didysis ragutis, siekis, sausinis'', and ''pusčius''. * vasaris (February) derives from the noun ''vasara'', "summer". At this point, the days have begun to lengthen, there are occasional thaws, and thoughts and plans of summer reawaken. Cognates of "vasara" in other Indo-European languages also mean "spring", so this month might have been named as the beginning of spring. The historic names for this month were ''ragutis, kovinis'', and ''pridėtinis''. * kovas (March) may derive from either the noun ''kovas'', the

rook Rook or rooks may refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess that moves horizontally and vertically * Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game People, characters, individuals *a rookie, a rook * Russell Rook, Baron Rook (The Lord Rook; 21 ...

, or the noun ''kova'', meaning battle. Rooks increase their activity at this time, building their nests and mating. The alternate derivation refers to the struggle between winter and spring. It was formerly known as ''morčius'' and ''karvelinis''. * balandis (April) is derived from ''balandis'', the

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

, which at this point has begun to coo, nest and mate. Earlier names included ''žiedų, sultekis, gegužinis, karvelinis, biržėtas'', and ''Velykų''. * gegužė (May) is derived from ''gegužė'', the

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...

. Its call is felt to herald the final arrival of spring. Several folk beliefs are associated with this event. It was earlier known as ''gegužinis'', ''sėtinis'', ''sėmenis'', ''žiedžius'', ''žiedų'', ''berželis'', ''sultekis'', ''milčius'', and ''mildinis''. * birželis (June) is derived from ''beržas'', the

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, which flowers during this month. Birch branches are used as decorations during

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

. Its earlier names were ''visjavis, jaunius, žienpjovys, sėmenis, kirmėlių, biržis, mėšlinis'', and ''pūdymo''. * liepa (July) is derived from ''liepa'', the linden tree, which flowers during this month; the flowers pleasantly scent the air, are used to make

herbal tea Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plai ...

s, and attract

honeybees A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the cur ...

. Older names for the month were ''liepinis'', ''liepžiedis'', ''plaukjavis'', ''plūkis'', ''šienpjūtis'', and ''šienpjūvis''. Cognate to

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

br>lipiec
Ukrainianbr>липень
(lypen') and

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

br>ліпень
(lipień). * rugpjūtis (August) is derived from ''rugiai'',

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

, and the verb ''pjauti'', to cut. This staple Lithuanian grain is harvested then; before mechanization, this was performed with

sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feedi ...

s. It was also known as ''degėsis'', ''paukštlėkis'', and ''pjūties''. * rugsėjis (September) is also derived from ''rugiai'', with the verb ''sėti'', to plant. The grain is sown at this time, germinates, and overwinters in the fields, resuming growth in the spring. Other names for this month were ''rudenio'', ''vėsulinis'', ''paukštlėkis'', ''šilų'', ''rujos'', ''strazdinis'', ''rudugys'', ''viržių'', ''sėjos'', ''veselinis'', and ''vesulis''. * spalis (October) is derived from ''spaliai'',

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

hards. The plant was harvested at this time; it was and is used for fiber, food, and as a cash crop. The historic names for this month were ''vėlinis'', ''spalinis'', ''lapkristys'', ''visagalis'', and ''septintinis''. * lapkritis (November) is derived from ''lapas'', leaf, and ''kristi'', to fall. Its older names include ''vėlių'', ''vėlius'', ''spalinis'', ''lapkrėstys'', ''lapkristys'', ''grodis'', ''gruodinis'', and ''vilkų''. * gruodis (December) is derived from the noun ''gruodas'', which has no direct English equivalent; it may be described as "a frozen clod". Its older names include ''sausinis, vilkinis, vilkų'', and ''Kalėdų''. Cognate to

grudzień and Ukrainian грудень (hruden').

Days of the week

The days of the week are named in sequence, beginning with Monday. They are ''pirmadienis'' ("first day"), ''antradienis'', ''trečiadienis'', ''ketvirtadienis'', ''penktadienis'', ''šeštadienis'', and ''sekmadienis''. They are not capitalized.

References

External links

Months in the Lithuanian calendar

Photos of a modern solar calendar in Kretinga

The Lithuanian calendar
{{Calendars

Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

Specific calendars

History

Names of the months

Days of the week

See also

References

External links